Etherealists in airship combat

[Snark Knight]

So we saw a couple of instances where Cavendish and Ferus were able to redirect gauntlet fire and use their enemies' own shots against them. I found it odd, then, that Cavendish was essentially a non-factor in the concluding airship battle. Since the cannon discharges are much more powerful than gauntlets, I can see it being too taxing for an etherealist to outright loop fire back against the attacking ship, but it seems odd she didn't even intervene to disrupt their aim or focus.

[Second Aristh]

Cavendish was busy memorizing the Index, and there was the possibility of two etherealists countering whatever she might have done so I can understand why she stayed out of things.  Barring those circumstances, I can see how the scale of power from the crystals might be a limiting factor.  I'd imagine the most effective use of an etherealist against an airship would be to affect their lift crystal.  Either change its output into something that isn't antigravity or turn it off altogether.

[canpinter]

do we know how rare etherealists are? cause it might be a case of not wanting to risk such rare people in open combat.

[Second Aristh]

do we know how rare etherealists are? cause it might be a case of not wanting to risk such rare people in open combat.

Grimm said that Ferus was the fourth etherealist he'd met in his lifetime.  Overall, they're probably fewer of them than there are power core crystals.

[PlatinaD]

I also believe that the webbing that propels the ships use the "etheric current" and an etherialist manipulating the same ether would disrupt the propulsion and maneuverability of the ship itself.

 

[Snark Knight]

Cavendish was busy memorizing the Index, and there was the possibility of two etherealists countering whatever she might have done so I can understand why she stayed out of things.  Barring those circumstances, I can see how the scale of power from the crystals might be a limiting factor.

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When the Predator was chasing down the Mistshark, Ferus was basically incapacitated by the loss of his security blanket collection, and it was already pretty established that Cavendish could overwhelm the apprentice Folly in a direct conflict.

I wonder whether it might be an issue of range as well as cannon crystals being too powerful to counter. The only things we actually have examples of the etherialists doing at any range longer than across a large room were Folly's tracking beacon and her interception of the Enemy's communications - all the Kaboom! effects we've seen so far were relatively short-range.

I might try to get a question about this in next time Jim does an AMA.

[Second Aristh]

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When the Predator was chasing down the Mistshark, Ferus was basically incapacitated by the loss of his security blanket collection, and it was already pretty established that Cavendish could overwhelm the apprentice Folly in a direct conflict.

I wonder whether it might be an issue of range as well as cannon crystals being too powerful to counter. The only things we actually have examples of the etherialists doing at any range longer than across a large room were Folly's tracking beacon and her interception of the Enemy's communications - all the Kaboom! effects we've seen so far were relatively short-range.

I might try to get a question about this in next time Jim does an AMA.

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I thought Ferus's collection was already recovered once the chase began.  Ferus was helping with the people poisoned by the silkweavers.

[Snark Knight]

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I thought Ferus's collection was already recovered once the chase began.  Ferus was helping with the people poisoned by the silkweavers.

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I was referring to the preliminary chase where Predator was pursuing Mistshark based on Folly's tracking spell keyed to Ferus' collection, when Cavendish was aboard the target ship. I kept expecting her to do something to turn Predator's fire back against it.

Ferus being occupied with the wounded makes sense for why he didn't do anything when Predator was being pursued by Itasca, and I didn't really think Folly was trained up on enough of the Kaboom stuff to do that yet.

[Second Aristh]

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I was referring to the preliminary chase where Predator was pursuing Mistshark based on Folly's tracking spell keyed to Ferus' collection, when Cavendish was aboard the target ship. I kept expecting her to do something to turn Predator's fire back against it.

Ferus being occupied with the wounded makes sense for why he didn't do anything when Predator was being pursued by Itasca, and I didn't really think Folly was trained up on enough of the Kaboom stuff to do that yet.

Ah, yeah that's what Folly was using to home in on, wasn't she.  I had forgotten that link.

[canpinter]

there is also the issue of each one having a different "eccentricity" if you will.  If each one of them has to have different compulsions catered to in order to function that might not fit to well in a military setting where standardization and regulation are the norm. 

[Tarion]

Given that Predator seems to have something of a personality itself, I'm not sure that a smart etherealist will pick that fight.  It seems possible, maybe even likely, that the blasts (powered by her core crystal) are essentially an extension of her self. 

Maybe relevant - Cavendish didn't try to use Folly's crystals against her.  Maybe because it's not her style, but maybe because they have a will of their own.